Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Soledad, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Soledad in the 24 hours to 3:24 am PST (11:24 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) N, at 2:58 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Soledad
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Soledad, CA, at 2:59 am PDT on 20 October 2018 (09:59 UTC), 7.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1km ESE of Lopez Point, CA
- When
- 2:59 am PDT on 20 October 2018 ()
- Where
- 50 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 33 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio fault, 3 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2942 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Soledad, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Soledad, 50 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 420,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 38× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.2 25 km NW of San Simeon, California · 28 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.2 22 km NW of San Simeon, California · 31 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 36.0163, -121.5585. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 33 km (21 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 122 km (76 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
33 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 19km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.9 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 2.5 4km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 7km SE of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.8 26km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 14km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.9 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.8 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.7 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.8 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 3.4 25km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 2.3 15km WNW of San Simeon, CA
- 2.1 16km WNW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 13km WNW of San Simeon, CA
- 2.3 13km NW of San Simeon, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.